It seems like sets that are 20'' or smaller live longer lives. I would like too know if this is true or not. Thanks for any info.

Well.. I noticed that as well, but I think it's because the smaller sets were rarely used as "main" TV's. They were always bedroom sets or a secondary set, so didn't see the use that the larger screen sets did.

It seems like sets that are 20'' or smaller live longer lives. I would like too know if this is true or not. Thanks for any info.

Even the 20" Zenith CRT's stood up well, compared to their ratty 27's.
A lot of those sets were the only sets, the owners had. I see a few 13's that look a little tired. :yes:

In my experience the smaller sets lasted longer than the larger ones.

Chock some of that up to strain. Sometimes a maker will use the same (or nearly the same) chassis/main board to drive more than one screen size, and odds are when that happens the ones that have the worse stress on the high power parts are the biggest screen incarnations of the chassis.

Yes...I once had a 25" RCA console that had pin settings for which CRT was to be used. 13" and on up.

...

RCA used the CTC203 chassis in everything from 19" all the way up to 36". It's been my experience that the 19" to 27" sets held up fairly well; but, anything bigger than 27" would eat flyback transformers. I'm sure the reason for that is because they didn't use a heavy enough flyback to drive the larger CRT's.

the rca ctc110 13" sets seems to run forever. i sold quite a few of those and i never seen a bad or weak crt in those. my mom ran hers all night every night for years and years. then it went to her flower shop where it ran day in and day out for years and was still making an excellent picture when it fell off the shelf.
steve

the crt's in rca 25" sets chassis ct-107 thru ctc120 ran a long time i mean years before showing signs of getting the least bit weak. thomson made some of the best crt's out there.

the crt's in rca 25" sets chassis ct-107 thru ctc120 ran a long time i mean years before showing signs of getting the least bit weak. thomson made some of the best crt's out there.


IIRC the CTC 120 was out around 1984. Thomson didn't purchase RCA until 1986

But the ColorTrak 2000 TV's from the early 90's were damn good sets. Used to have one.

The CTC 203 was ther VERY last "thomson made" RCA chassis. If it has the seperate tuner--which most have..it can be made to be VERY reliable--aside from the Fly and the horiz. driver connections and a cap here and there in the SMPS .

The tubes used in them do NOT really have a lifespan...they run and RUN and RUN !! I would say 50K hours is a LOW estimate of life for them !!

I only have seen a couple bad ones--likely "infant mortality"--since they were only a few years old when the tubes died.....and did NOT show sings of heav use either.

A "new" tube..(actulaly form an OLDER set---with a chassis beyone repair)....and one set looked like NEW...till the owner tossed it out becasuse he thought it was "telling him to get rid ot it....and his other furniture".

(Actually...there WAS one more Thomson chassis after the 203...the ATC_113...BUT it is really a 203 with MORE digital features and RGB component inputs IIRC--instead of a whole new chassis )

the rca ctc110 13" sets seems to run forever. i sold quite a few of those and i never seen a bad or weak crt in those. my mom ran hers all night every night for years and years. then it went to her flower shop where it ran day in and day out for years and was still making an excellent picture when it fell off the shelf.
steve
I have a 19" CRT from a CTC110B that tests almost new even though it probably has a considerable number of hours on it (quite a bit of black dust came off).

I have a CTC-185 25" that I bout new in 2000. It had a TON of hours on it until it got "retired in 2014. I gave it to a friend in 2005, and she used it until being put in storage last year. Last time I saw it, it had a great picture, and surprisingly has never needed a repair...

My RCA CTC185, bought new in 1999, still works and has an excellent picture for its age (almost 16 years). I also have a Zenith 19" "Sentry 2" table model (model SMS1917SG) that still works quite well, even after almost 20 years (it was a birthday present on my 39th birthday in 1995). That Zenith is still practically new, however, since I only used it four years before moving and replacing it with the above-mentioned RCA; the Zenith has been in my bedroom, unused, since then.

My Zenith Sentry 2 was probably one of the last if not the last Zenith sets to have been manufactured while Zenith was still an American TV maker, based in Chicago. There is a label on the back cover that says "Zenith Radio Corporation, Glenview, Illinois 60025", so that set probably was one of the last "real" and quality-made Zenith TVs manufactured before the company went to Korea, and their reputation for quality went with it. However, I guess I shouldn't be too hard on Zenith of Korea, as they did have some good products. I have a Zenith portable AM-FM radio, model R-70, which was made in Korea to Zenith's standards (there is a label stamped into the back cover of the radio stating this), and it's a fairly good set for its age (almost 35 years). Four IF stages on FM, two IFs on AM, and ceramic filters for both bands, with a 4-inch speaker, made this one of the best, IMHO, small portable radios Zenith ever made in the early 1980s. I will hold on to mine as long as it works, even though I don't listen to radio now as much as I once did.

I also had a Zenith integrated stereo system in the early '80s, made by Zenith of Korea; it worked well the 17 years I owned it, but I left it at my former residence when I moved. Replaced it with an Aiwa bookshelf stereo that still works, for the most part, but the cassette decks failed several years ago. I'm not surprised. Those decks had cheap plastic parts in them, and a few of them must have cracked or broken, putting the decks out of service. :no: I replaced both decks with a now 38-year-old Radio Shack stereo deck with Dolby (not sure if it's A or B) that still works like a champ today, even though I do not use the Dolby decoder since only one of my many cassettes was recorded with Dolby noise reduction.

Back to the question which is the topic of this thread: I do believe smaller TVs can last much longer than sets with larger screens, due to the lower beam current requirements of flat screen TVs and small CRT sets, not to mention lower power requirements of the entire set. This can also be said, I believe, for flat screen TVs: the smaller screens seem to outlast large-screen sets, as I consistently see in the support forum for Insignia flat TVs (I browse it regularly). Most of the service inquiries involve the larger sets (30 inches and up), as I rarely see smaller screen sizes mentioned in these forums. My own Insignia 19" flat panel TV has almost four years on it, and hasn't given me five minutes worth of trouble; still works as well as when it was new. :thmbsp: Knock on wood.

...and how many 9" Admiral tube type black and white sets are still running with the original vertical output/horizontal output tubes and CRT? Those things ran hot, and I've not seen a working one since the 80s. :para:

Now solid state stuff, yeah - always more reliable than their larger cousins, with the exception of some of the Quasar IIs - the 19" sets always seemed to find their way in to the shop with far more frequency than their 23/25" brethren.

RCA's CTC110 in the 13" - only a lightning strike seemed to kill those! You might have to tweak the greyscale occasionally, but they ran reliable!

I'd venture to say that we saw way more portables in for repair, but they were more common in our area, and could be brought in easily. Most were lightning strike or run-of-the-mill repairs...

I've got two Admiral 9" tube sets, and one is working well (the other is either no sound or no signal IIRC). I'll post pictures if ya want....You've got me curious if the sweep tubes in mine are original now.

I've got two Admiral 9" tube sets, and one is working well (the other is either no sound or no signal IIRC). I'll post pictures if ya want....You've got me curious if the sweep tubes in mine are original now.

The Admiral Playmate 9 line was built for several years running. The first ones were USA made, the second run was Japanese made amd the third was Taiwan made.
I found the Japanese made sets were the most trouble prone. More capacitor failures.
The only set, I remember having that type of control knobs.

As for tube type sets, one of the longest lived I've seen was the General Electric XB chassis b/w..they made those in 12" & 19" I think. The chassis would outlive the cry every time, I've owned a few of them. It was a hybrid chassis. I like smaller sets, easier to transport and collect

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XA and XB are NOT hybrids...but totally SS. Hot chassis too. Uses a class A audio with one large transistor out and large sink--I thnk near H-out. I have at least one--a 13" or so. Works...not sure about tube...do NOT think it is real good. (GE BW tubes at least...were NOT all that long-lived...at least by the 1970's anyway..)

I thik the XA came out around 1974 or so...the nearly indetical XB followed a year or two later--and REMAINED till I think the early 1980's or so.

I like smaller sets, easier to transport and collect

I'll drink to that. Ideally 19-inchers would be the bulk of what I have. Besides, getting the Tatachi got me more interested in tin can cabinets. Some mini-consoles would be nice too.

Hey Jon - I saw the 'Tatachi' thread...nice tv. I had a metal case set from 76 that was similar and it had a really great pic
By the way it feels great to be back after my 7 month hiatus!

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I ran into a BUNCH of the funky General Electric 9" sets from the 1960s a few years back... Now, I hardly ever see 'em..

Yes, and the Made in Japan ones in early-80s were even better.